SloppyCalculator/SinFoS huggingface dataset:
Sinhala figure of speech: ඕනෑ කමට කබරගොයත් තලගොයාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You call a “ kabaragoya ” a “ talagoya ” when you want (to eat) it.
Meaning: When there is a need, even things that were initially negative appear positive.
Context:  The flesh of the kabaragoya or large spotted lizard (Hydrosaurus salvator, order Sauria) is generally not eaten.
Sinhala figure of speech: වැඩි පණ්ඩිතයාට ඒදණ්ඩෙන් යන්න බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The too-erudite Pandit cannot even cross an “ edanda.”
Meaning: An over-careful man cannot even pass over the plank laid across a brook
Context: An edanda is a plank or beam laid across a river or brook to serve as a bridge
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉගෙනීම නොනැසෙන ධනයකි 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: Education is an indestructible form of wealth.
Sinhala figure of speech: බණ දන්නෝ අසන වල වැඩ හිඳී   තී                                                              උඩ  පැන්නෝ ඒ සැනෙකින් බිම වැටෙ  තී
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The learned wise sit proudly over all,
The proud jump up and precipitately fall,
Sinhala figure of speech: ආඳ මාළු ඉරටුවෙන් කන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like eating “ anda ” flesh with an eacle.
Meaning: That is, getting a task, which is repugnant to us, performed by others
Sinhala figure of speech: තමන්නෙ මට්ටම් තමමට්ටම් 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: One’s own effort is the best effort
Meaning: One’s own effort is the best effort
Sinhala figure of speech: දෙගල් අස්සේ බිජු දාන්ඩ ආවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like coming to lay eggs between two stones
Sinhala figure of speech: කස්බාගෙත් කිකිළිගෙත් බිජු දැම්මා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the egg-laying of the “ kesba ” and hen respectively
Context: The turtle makes no noise even after laying hundreds of eggs, but the cackling of a hen who has laid one egg, could be heard in several villages of the neighbourhood
Sinhala figure of speech: අලි මදිවට හරක් 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Bullocks, too, in addition to elephants,
Meaning: One trouble comes while in another trouble
Sinhala figure of speech: අලි විකුණලා බැරිවෙලා තම්පළා විකුණලා හරියයිද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Is it of any use to take to herb-selling after failing in the trade in elephants ?
Meaning: Can someone who can't make a profit selling something valuable succeed in a small business selling something worthless?
Sinhala figure of speech: අලි ගිය මග අඩි පාර සොයා යන්ට කණ්ණඩි ඕනෑයැ ? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Do you want spectacles to distinguish the footprints on the track of elephants ?

Meaning: The act of searching for something that is very obvious using subtle techniques, or the actions or footprints of people who do great work are clearly visible. Doing something foolish
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතාට විදලාත් අත උස් වුණයි කීවා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like saying that your hand got raised after shooting at (and missing) the elephant.
Meaning: Making up a false excuse to avoid responsibility
Sinhala figure of speech: අන්ධයින් හතර දෙනා ඇතාගේ ලක්ෂණ කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the four blind men’s description of the elephant.
Meaning: Understanding only a part of something larger and then trying to explain it to someone else without considering the whole.
Context: A group of blind men touched the body of an elephant and described its shape in their own way. He who touched the leg said the elephant was like a rice-pounder. He who touched the trunk, said the elephant was like a Papaya tree. He who touched the ear the elephant was like a Bamboo-tray or a winnowing fan, while the last who touched the tail said the elephant was like a dried coconut flowe
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතා ගිල්ල දිවුල් ගෙඩිය වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the wood-apple swallowed by the elephant.
Meaning: There is nothing inside.
Context: According to the popular notion a wood apple swallowed by an elephant passes out without any kernel.The wood-apple (Feronia elephantum, Sinh. Divul, Sanskrit: Kapittha, Tamil: Nilavilam) is also known as the elephant apple. It is a curious fact that a wood-apple swallowed by an elephant passes out absolutely hollow, without any kernel, the shell being intact.
Sinhala figure of speech: කුඹුරේ අලි කෑවාට ගමේ තිබුණ වංගෙඩි බැන්දෙව්වා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like tying up the mortars (paddy-pounders) of the village because elephants ate up the corn in the field.
Meaning: To take revenge or punish someone for a wrong done by someone else.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතුන් යන පාරෙ වටුවොත් යනවලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Snipe also go on the same path as elephants
English equivalent: Small boats too venture upon the sea where big ships sail
Meaning: Even those who are small, weak, or less powerful dare to attempt great or dangerous undertakings, just as mighty or powerful ones do
Context: Once upon a time, at the foot of the Himalayas, three friends, a partridge, a monkey, and an elephant lived together beneath a great banyan tree. They did not respect one another, nor did they live in harmony. One day, they began to reflect:
“It is not right for us to live without order or respect. If among us someone is older, then the younger ones should honor and serve him. That way, our life together will be peaceful.” They then wondered who among them was the eldest. To decide, they made a plan. First, the partridge and the monkey asked the elephant, “Friend, how long have you known this banyan tree?” The elephant replied, “When I was a young calf, I remember standing over this tree when it was just a sapling. At that time, its crown of leaves was at the level of my navel. Since then, I have known it.” Next, the partridge and the elephant asked the monkey the same question. The monkey said, “Friends, when I was a little monkey, I sat on the ground and ate the tender leaves of this very banyan sapling without even climbing it. Since that time, I have known it.” Finally, the monkey and the elephant turned to the partridge and asked him. The partridge replied wisely: “Friends, in the past, before this banyan tree grew here, there was another great banyan tree. I ate the fruit of that tree, and from the seed I dropped, this very tree sprouted and grew. Therefore, I know it from the very beginning. I am older than both of you.” Hearing this, then monkey and the elephant accepted the partridge as the eldest. They said: “From now on, we shall respect and honor you. We will rise when you approach, bow to you, and listen to your advice. Please guide us with your wisdom.” From then on, the partridge taught and advised them. He established them in virtue and encouraged them to observe the Five Precepts. Living by his guidance, the three friends lived in harmony, respected each other, and at the end of their lives, they were reborn in the heavenly realm.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතා වෑරුණත් කොරහේ නාවන්නට බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You cannot bathe an elephant in a “ koraha.” even when he gets lean.
Meaning: A superior person maintains his superiority even when he is degraded or weak.
Sinhala figure of speech: මඩේ ගිලුණු ඇතා ගොඩ ගන්ට ඊට වඩා බලසම්පන්න ගජේන්ද්‍ර යෙක් ඕනා කෙරෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: When an elephant is stuck in the mud, you want another of stronger and nobler breed to pull him out.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇත්තු දළ දෙනකොට මැද තිබෙන තෝර ගැටෙනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When elephants fight (lit. “ give their tusks ”) the “ tora ” plants in between them are ruined
Meaning: The Thora is the cassia plant of which there are many species in Ceylon
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇතා පෑගුවාම හුස්ම ගන්ට අමාරුවේද ? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Will you have to labour for breath if an elephant tramples you ?
Sinhala figure of speech: සමන් දෙවියන්ට හැංගුණත් අමංගලට හැංගෙන්ට බැරිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: You may escape God Saman> but not (his servant) Amangalla.
Context: Saman Deviyo is the deified half-brother of Rama (sic), who conquered Ceylon in prehistoric times and is the guardian-spirit of Adam’s Peak. Pilgrims, while climbing the Sacred Hill to worship Buddha’s footprint, call on him to aid their ascent. Amangalla is the name of his servant
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස අතගා ඇහැ උලුප්පනවා වගෙයි 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like patting the head and gouging out the eve-
Meaning: To pretend to be friendly but act with enmity
Sinhala figure of speech: අඬන්න තියෙන ඇහැට ඇඟිල්ලක් ඇන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like knocking your finger into the eye which is ready to cry.
Meaning: Providing a reason and an excuse for someone who wanted to do something but couldn't find a reason to do it
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉරටා දුන්නෙන් විද්දත් ඇහැ කණ වෙනවා 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The eye gets blinded if you shoot even with a bow of eacle 
Meaning: Even a small bad thing can lead to a big disaster.
Sinhala figure of speech: රත්තරන් ඉඳිකටුව උනත් ඇහේ ඇනුණෙත් කණවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The eye will be blinded from the prick even of a golden needle.
Meaning: Even if it is something very valuable, if it is dangerous, be careful.
Sinhala figure of speech: මුහුණ සේදු තරමට ඇසට සනීපලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The eye will benefit as often as the face is washed
Sinhala figure of speech: එක ඇහැකට ඇන්නාම අනිත් ඇහෙනුත් කඳුලු එනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When one eye is pricked, tears flow from the other eye also
Meaning: Sympathy between members of one family or community
Sinhala figure of speech: වැටෙන්න යනකොට කටු අත්ත අල්ලනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like clinging to a thorny branch when about to fall-
Sinhala figure of speech: ලොවට ප්‍රකාශෙ, ගෙදරට මරගාතේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Fame abroad and distress (lit. “ death-agony ”) at home-
Sinhala figure of speech: පතට ඉපදිලා දෙපතක් ගරන්ට පිළිවන්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Having been born for a quarter measure (of rice), can you expect to sift a half-measure ?
Sinhala figure of speech: කළුතර උපදින්ටත් මාතර ඉගෙනගන්ටත් ඇත්නම් මදැයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: To be born at Kalutara and educated at Matara is the best fate a man could ever have
Context: Kalutara has always borne a high reputation for its healthiness, while Matara has long been famous amongst the Sinhalese for the learning of its priests.
Sinhala figure of speech: හිතුවත් මෙර උසට, ලැබෙයි තම කළ කුසල් පමණට 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ] 
Literal translation: Though your hopes are as high as Meru, yet you will get only your deserts
Context: Meru is the sacred mountain of mythology, whose height is said to be 168,000 yojanas (a yojana is about nine miles), 84,000 of which are below the surface of the earth
Sinhala figure of speech: තමා වරදස නොදිස්  නේ, මෙරමා දොස් දිස්නේ 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: One’s own fault is invisible, that of others apparent
Meaning: One’s own fault is invisible, that of others apparent
Sinhala figure of speech: පර අබසා දොස මෙරසා පෙනෙන් දැයි තම මෙරෙසා දොස අබසා පෙනෙන් දැයි 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: One’s own Meru-like fault appears to him as a mustard seed,
while another’s mustard-like fault appears to him as Meru
Context: The sacred mountain merit, in the centre of the four great continents, compared by the Sinhalese, to the tabor, and encircled by the seven seas which are separated from, each other by seven circular rocks, the residences of various demigods, demons, sprites, and gurulas, and are under the sway of the four waran deviyas, or regents of the four points of the compass the height Meru is said to be 84,000 yodrins 42,000 of which are below the surface of the earth. On its top Shilva holds his court surrounded by the gods of Swarga, and underneath its base is the residence of the asuras
Sinhala figure of speech: උණ කාරයා වතුර ඉල්ලනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the man in fever asking for water •
Sinhala figure of speech: බිහිරි අලියාට වේණ ගන්නාක් මෙනි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like playing the fiddle to a deaf elephant
English equivalent: Like blowing a chank to a deaf man
Meaning: Advising someone who won't listen no matter how much you say
Sinhala figure of speech: ගල පිට පොර හාද පොර නොවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: A struggle on a rock is no friendly struggle
Sinhala figure of speech: නයාට පොළඟා හම්බඋණා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cobra meeting the “ polonga”
Meaning: Two people with a deep hatred
Context: In Sinhalese folklore, the story of the origin of the bitter feud between the two is as follows. During a certain hot season, a child was playing inside a tub full of water, and a thirsty cobra drank of it without hurting the child. A thirsty polonga (viper) met the cobra and was told where water was to be found, on the polonga’s promise that it would not injure the child. As the polonga was drinking the water, the child playfully struck it and the polonga bit him to death. The Cobra, who had followed the polonga, there and then killed it for breaking its promise. From which day there is said to be bitter hatred between the two
Sinhala figure of speech: රොඩියාට කින්නරා හම්බුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the Rodiya meeting the Kinnara 
Meaning: Two people with a deep hatred
Context: At Parakrama King’s court the venison was provided by a certain Vedda- archer, who, during a scarcity of game, substituted the flesh of a boy he met in the jungle, and provided it as venison for the Royal Household. Navaratna Valli, the beautiful daughter of the King, discovered the deception and, impelled by a sudden longing for human flesh, ordered the hunter to bring this flesh daily. The Vedda accordingly waylaid youths in the woods and disposed of their flesh to the Royal kitchen. The whole country was terrified by the constant disappearance of youths and maidens. It happened one day that a barber came to the palace to complain of the disappearance of his only son. While waiting for an audience he was given, by the servants at the Royal scullery, a leaf of rice and venison curry. Just as he was about to eat, he noticed on his leaf the deformed knuckle of the little finger of a boy. Recognizing it by the deformity as that of his son, he fled from the palace and spread the alarm that the King was killing and eating the youths of the city. The facts then came to light; and the King, stripping his daughter of her ornaments, and calling up a scavenger then sweeping in a neighbouring yard, gave her to him as wife, and drove her out to earn her living in her husband’s class. The Princess and the scavenger fled from the town, and, as night came on, asked for shelter from a Kinnara, but were angrily repulsed. The Kinnara, who was the first person to repulse the founders of the race, is regarded as their hereditary enemy and so strong is the feeling between them, that a meeting between the two means a veritable death struggle
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟිලි පහම එක වාගෙද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Are the five fingers of the same length ?
Meaning: To indicate that everyone is different and has unique characteristics and talents, especially within the same family or friends.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇඟිල්ලේ තරමට ඉදිමෙන්ට ඕනෑලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The swelling of the finger must be proportioned to its size 
Meaning: The ambition of men should not exceed their abilities
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇවිළෙන ගින්නට පිදුරු දමන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like adding straw to a raging fire •
Meaning: Acting to escalate a conflict
Sinhala figure of speech: ගින්දරේ පණුවන් දැම්මා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like throwing worms into a fire-
Sinhala figure of speech: උණ වනේ උණ වනෙන්ම ගිනිගන්නවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The bamboo jungle sets itself afire
Sinhala figure of speech: ගින්නක් නැතිව දුමක් නැතිලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: There cannot be smoke without fire •
Meaning: Nothing happens without a reason.
Sinhala figure of speech: හුළු අත්ත උණු වතුරෙ දැම්මත් එකයි ඇල්වතුරෙ දැම්මත් එකයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It’s the same whether you dip a firebrand in hot or cold water¬
Sinhala figure of speech: ගිණිපෙණෙල්ලෙන් බැටකාපු එකා කනමැදිරියටත් භයලු  
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the firefly frightens the man who has been thrashed with a fire-brand
Meaning: Someone who has experienced some kind of negative situation or consequence will try to avoid making the same mistake or experiencing the same situation again
Sinhala figure of speech: දිවයුරු ඉදිරියේ කෙසේ බබැලෙද කනමැදිරියේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: How can a firefly shine in the sun ?
Sinhala figure of speech: මා කන හැටි ලිපා දනී 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: My fire-place knows exactly how I eat
Meaning: The shortages are high.
Sinhala figure of speech: කුඩා ඇමක් දාලා මහමාලූ මරන්නාවගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like catching a big fish with a small bait-
Meaning: Giving a little and getting a lot
Sinhala figure of speech: වාසනාව තියෙන දවසේදී නූල් පටිනුත් මාලු අල්ලන්ට පුළුවනි, වාසනාව නැති දවසේදී මාලූ යකඩ දම්වැලුත් කඩනවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: On a lucky day you can catch fish with twine; but on an
unlucky day the fish will break even chains of iron
Sinhala figure of speech: කරවළ වෙළදාමේ ඇවිත් සුදු සඳුන්වල ගණන් කුමටද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What has the dry-fish seller to do with the price of white sandal¬ wood ?
English equivalent: the cobbler should stick to his last
Meaning: To do what one is familiar with, experienced in, or skilled at, rather than trying something different and risking failure.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඈත තිබෙන මොනර මහට වඩා ළඟ තිබෙන කපුටු මහ හොඳලූ 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Crow flesh at hand is better than peacock flesh afar off-
Meaning:  Things we already have are more valuable than what we hope to get
Sinhala figure of speech: කුණු මාලූ ඔතාපු කොළේ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the leaf in which putrid meat had been wrapped up •
Sinhala figure of speech: කටු ගාලේ පිපුණ මල වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like a flower blossoming among brambles
Sinhala figure of speech: අට්ටික්කා ගහේ මල් පිපුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like flowers blossoming on an “ attikka ” tree
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩන්ට බැරි මල බුදුන්ගේ නමට පූජාවෙච්චාවේ කීවාලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like saying of the flower which could not be plucked : “ May Buddha accept it as an offering-”
Sinhala figure of speech: මගුල් කෑමට ගොස් ඉලව් කෑම ලැබුණ වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like going to a wedding feast and receiving funerel fare
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහන්ට ගහන්ට වඳින එකත්, වඳින්ට වඳින්ට ගහන එකත්, දෙන්නම මෝඩයාලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: He who cries for mercy the more he is beaten, and he who beats the more the other cries for mercy, are both fools•
Sinhala figure of speech: එක මෝඩයෙක් අමුඩේ ගැහුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the way in which a certain fool tied his “ amude-”
Sinhala figure of speech: පණ්ඩිතයන් සීයෙකුගෙන් දිනතත් මෝඩයෙකුගෙන් දිනන්ට බැහැ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Though you defeat a hundred Pandits (in argument), you
cannot defeat a single fool
Sinhala figure of speech: තෙමිච්ච කුකුළාට සීත නැතිලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: A wet fowl does not feel the cold
Sinhala figure of speech: තෙමිච්ච කුකුළා වගෙයි 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර] 
Literal translation: Like a wet fowl-
Sinhala figure of speech: මරාපු කුකුළා සුද්දකරන්නට නරියාට භාර දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like killing the fowl and handing it to the fox to clean
Meaning: putting vulnerable people or valuable things under the control of someone who will harm or exploit them
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුරාධපුරේ කුකුළා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the fowl of the ancient Capitals-
Context: There is a Sinhalese saying that, in ancient days, a fowl could pass from the roof of a house in Polonnaruwa to the roof of a house in Anuradhapura without descending to the ground
Sinhala figure of speech: කුකුළාට ඉස්සර වෙලා පෙඳේ දිව්වා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the tail running before the fowl
Meaning: In a sequence, doing something that should be done later first
Sinhala figure of speech: උගුලේ අසුවී නරියා කට ඇරගෙන පණයන්ට එද්දිත් මේක සිනාවෙයි කීවාලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: “ He is smiling ” was said of the fox, evert when caught in a trap, its mouth twitched in death-agony
Sinhala figure of speech: නරියාට බොකු හෝදන්ට දුන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like giving entrails to a fox to wash
Meaning: putting vulnerable people or valuable things under the control of someone who will harm or exploit them
Sinhala figure of speech: පඹ ගාලේ පැටලුණ නරි නයිදේ වගෙයි 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like Mr. Fox entangled in a “ pamba ” thicket
Meaning: To go and do something and make a big mess of it
Sinhala figure of speech: නරියා කුකුළා කැලේ සඟවා පොල්ලෙල්ලේ ඩැහැගෙන දුවනවාලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The fox hides the fowl in the jungle and runs about, dangling a coconut husk from its mouth •
English equivalent: Red herring
Meaning: a clue or piece of information which is or is intended to be misleading or distracting
Sinhala figure of speech: මිත්‍රයෙක් අමිත්‍ර කරගන්ට මනපනම් ඔහුට පමණක් ණයට දෙන්ටලූ 
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ] 
Literal translation: If you want to make a friend unfriendly, lend him a “ fanam•”
Sinhala figure of speech: සැප දෙන මිත්‍රයා වැඩදෙන මාරයලු 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The friend who confers happiness is the “ Maraya ” who gives
work
Sinhala figure of speech: වැඩදෙන ස්වාමියා සැපදෙන මිත්‍රයාලූ 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The friend who confers happiness is the “ Maraya ” who gives work
Sinhala figure of speech: දේට දේ මිසක් වැඩි හාදකම් නැත 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Thing for thing and no friendship besides
Sinhala figure of speech: මහනෙල් මල් විලෙත් මැඩියෝ ඉන්නවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even in the lotus pond there are frogs•
Sinhala figure of speech: කොපමණ වතුර ගැලුවත් ගෙමඩිත්තාගේ කරවටලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: However high the water may rise, it will only be up to the neck of the frog •
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙමඩි ලාහෙන් මනින්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like measuring frogs with a “ laha-’’
Sinhala figure of speech: ළිඳේ ඉන්න ගෙම්බා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the frog in a well 
Meaning: Not knowing anything outside of one's environment
Sinhala figure of speech: රිදී කාසිය පිට නැගුණ මැඩියා ඇතා ගිලිමියි කියා කට ඇරියාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The frog, which got upon a silver coin, opened its mouth with
the threat to gulp down the elephant
Sinhala figure of speech: වැලේ පලගත් ගෙඩිය වැලට බර නැතිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Its own fruit is not a burden to the creeper •
Sinhala figure of speech: පුස්ස බින්දා  වගෙයි 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like breaking open a hollow fruit 
Meaning: Breaking down of expectations
Sinhala figure of speech: වේලිච්ච ගෙඩිය ගහේ තිබෙද්දී අමුගෙඩිය වැටුණක් මෙනි 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the fall of the unripe fruit while the dried one remains on the tree
Sinhala figure of speech: පෝරක හතෙන්ම වැටිච්ච මිනිහෙක් වගෙයි 
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a man who had escaped (lit. “fallen from”) a seven gallows
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමමායියා කොණ්ඩේ කැප්පුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ Gama-mayiya’s ” hair-cut.
Context: A certain Gamarala used to give his barber a bag of paddy every year for shaving him. When the barber came to the house one day during the absence of the Gamarala, the Gama-Maiya got her own head shoved in place of her husband's beard and boasted of her wise act on her husband's return
Sinhala figure of speech: ගම්මායියාලා දෙන්නා රාළලාගේ සමාර්තකම් කීවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the two “ Gama-mayiyas’ ” praise of the cleverness of their respective husbands
Context: When one of them said "My husband is very clever, for what he writes nobody he could read”, the other observed "My husband is cleverer still, for what he writes, he himself cannot read"
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමරාළගේ වංගෙඩිය වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like the Gama-rala’s “ vangediya-”
Meaning: Using the same thing in multiple ways
Context: A certain young man visiting his intended bride's house for the first time, was offered a paddy pounder to sit upon by his mother-in-law. A little while after, the mother-in-law wanted the paddy-pounder in order to get some paddy down from the loft. So, she asked the young man to get up for a while, and after finishing her business allowed the young man to resume his seat. After the paddy was dried in the sun the paddy-pounder was wanted a second time, to pound the paddy in. The young man being asked a second time to get up left the house, in disgust, observing that there was but one mortar to sit upon, to stand on, to pound paddy in, etc
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමරාළගේ වෙඩිල්ල වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the “ Gama-rala’s ” shot from his gun
Context: The wife of a certain Gamarala was in the habit of hiding herself in the jungle whenever she happened to fall out with her husband. The Gamarala devised a dodge in order to make her give up the habit by making her believe that he could shoot anything with his gun, wherever it may be. Having shot an animal at a distance, he hid it in a jungle. After returning home he fired his gun and ordered his servant to go to a certain place and fetch the animal that was killed by the shot. The servant went to the place he was asked to go and brought back the animal. Never after this did the Gama-maiya resort to her old habit of hiding herself in the jungle
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමරාළ දිව්‍ය ලෝකෙ ගියා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the way the Gama-rala went to Heaven-
Sinhala figure of speech: ගමරාළ කුරහන් ඇතිබව දතෙන් පෙනේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “ Gama-rala ” who has “kurahan” can b6 made out from his teeth
Sinhala figure of speech: වත්ත බදු දීලා ඇස්සට දත තියනවාලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like leasing out the garden and grimacing at a coconut slice
Meaning: being very careful about unimportant matters and careless about important ones
Sinhala figure of speech: මැණික් ගලේ පය හැපුණට කණ ඇහිඳලා ගනීද ? 
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Can a blind man make out and pick up the gem which his foot strikes against ?
Sinhala figure of speech: දෙපැත්තේ දුන්තෙල් ගාන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like applying (buffalo) ghee on both sides.
Meaning: To profit from two things at the same time, especially when those things Seem contradictory or incompatible
Sinhala figure of speech: සොලී කරෙත් ඇතිලු බඩ පුප්පන්නෝ, ගිලිමලෙත් ඇතිලු දත සුද්දෝ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even on the coast of Soli there are starving men, and even in Gilimale there are white-teethed people.
Sinhala figure of speech: දෙයියන්නේ පලියට පාරෙ බුදියගන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like sleeping on the road because Gods exist. 
Meaning: Recklessly relying on divine protection
Sinhala figure of speech: රන් පර්වතේ සිටින කපුටන් රන් පැහැයලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the crow on a golden rock has a golden hue. 
Meaning: Anyone, even a bad person, becomes good if he associates with good people in a good environment.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෝනගලට රැළ ගැහුවට නොදැනේලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “ Gonagala ” does not feel the beating of the waves, 
Meaning: Unaffected by turmoil
Sinhala figure of speech: කසින් කසින් කස් බෝවේ, බසින් බස බස් බූවේ බෝවේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The more you scratch the more you will have to scratch the more you talk, the more you will have to talk
Meaning: Scratching begets more scratching, and gossip begets more gossiping
Sinhala figure of speech: නිකම් හඬන මුත්තාට මුනුපුරෙක් මැරුණා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the death of a grand-son to a grand-father who weeps for nothing.
Meaning: A person who fusses over little things will react even more to serious events.
Sinhala figure of speech: මගුල් දාට මුත්තන් අමුත්තයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: On a wedding day, even the grand-father is a stranger.
Meaning: Relationship must not be held to deprive him of any of the ceremony and courtesy due to the stranger guest. In other words, everybody must be treated alike on such a day
Sinhala figure of speech: මුත්තා කියන්නෙත් බණ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: Even the grand-father talks “ Bana.”
Meaning: When everyone, even those expected to be casual or entertaining, becomes serious or preachy, it feels overwhelming or excessive.
Sinhala figure of speech: එක පිට එක වදින කොට මිරිස් ගලත් දුවනවාලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: When one blow follows another, even the grinder begins to run
Meaning: Continuous hardships or repeated blows can unsettle even the strongest or most steadfast.
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුන්ගේ පොරවට වඩා තමන්ගේ විදුරු මහ හොඳයිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: The gum of one’s own teeth is better than another’s axe.
Meaning: A small or object of less use belonging to a person is better than a bigger or much more useful object which could be borrowed by someone else
Sinhala figure of speech: අලුත් පිටට ගෝණිය කැදැලුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like covering the new (article) with a gunny bag.
Meaning: Doing something unnecessary or redundant — wasting effort on what doesn’t need improvement.
Sinhala figure of speech: කෙස්ස කැපුවත් අන්දිරිසා අන්දිරිසාමයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: Andrisa is Andrisa even if his hair is cut.
Sinhala figure of speech: කොන්ඩේ ඇත්නම් හතරහටම බන්දැකිලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If you have hair, you can tie it up in all four directions
Meaning: Where there are resources, there are many ways to use them.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගෙයි හාමිට වඩා පිදි බත් හාමි ලොකුයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The “ Pidi-bat ” Hamy is bigger than the “ Geyi-Hamv.”
Sinhala figure of speech: කපන්ට බැරි අත සිඹින්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Kissing the hand that cannot be cut off.
Meaning:  If you can’t beat your opponent, then work alongside them for mutual benefit.
Sinhala figure of speech: හුංගෝ ඇති වළේ අත දැමුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like putting your hand into a “ hungas’ ” hole.
Meaning: A person who meddles with dangerous things inevitably suffers the consequences.
Sinhala figure of speech: අල්ලේ වක්කරපු රහදිය බින්දුව වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the drop of quicksilver poured into the palm (of your hand).
Sinhala figure of speech: වක්කළ අත දික්කරන තුරු මගුල් සක්වළ එළිය හොඳලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The light (i.e. life) of this “ magul-sakvala-” is good enough even for the brief moment that it takes one to stretch out a bent hand
Sinhala figure of speech: අතේ නැත්නම් මූදින් එතර තිබුනත් එකයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: What you have not in your hand may as well be (looked for) beyond the seas.
Meaning: If you have something that you can't use when you need it, it doesn't matter if it's near you, far away, or wherever you are.
Sinhala figure of speech: අත හොලවන්නේ නැතුව කට හොලවන්නට බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන්ට බැහැ 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා] 
Literal translation: You cannot expect to move the mouth without moving the hands.
Meaning: One cannot obtain a living without working for it
Sinhala figure of speech: තුත්තුකුඩි ගියත් ඒ අත පයමයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Your hands and feet are the same, even if you go to Tuttukudi
Meaning: Changing places does not change a person’s character or capability.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගලේ හිස හැපීමෙන් හිස පොඩිවෙනවා මිස ගල පොඩිනොවෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: If you dash your head against a rock, what will get smashed is not the rock but the head
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉස අල්ලන්ටනම් පළමුවෙන් කකුළ අල්ලන්ටලු 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: If you want to touch the head, first touch the foot.
Sinhala figure of speech: අනුන්ගේ හිස රදෙත් හොඳලූ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the headache of another is good.
Meaning: Seeing and appreciating even the troublesome things in others as better than what you have.
Sinhala figure of speech: අලට වැඩිලු කොස්, ඊටත් වැඩිලු හිස රදේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: More common than the yam is “ Kos,” commoner still is the headache.
Sinhala figure of speech: හිස රදේට කොට්ටේ මාරු කළා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like changing your pillow to ease your headache.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහන හෙණේ පැණිවරකාව බලන්නෙත් නැතිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The thunderbolt is not a respecter even of the sweet jak-tree.
Meaning: Even the most loyal and friendly people have enemies.
Sinhala figure of speech: වහලේ දිවියා ඇඬුවත් පට්ටියෙ ගවයො නැත්නම් බය වෙන්නේ මොටද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: If there’s no cattle in the fold, why worry about the tiger roaring on the roof ?
Sinhala figure of speech: කොටි වල්ගේ අල්ලගත්තා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like catching hold of a tiger’s tail
Meaning: Inability to stop or finish what you started
Sinhala figure of speech: පින්කම් අස්සේ කොටි නටන්ට යනවා වගෙයි
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like going to start tiger-dancing in the midst of a “Pinkama"
Meaning: man who joined in a good and laudable matter from selfish or unworthy motives
Sinhala figure of speech: දිවියෝ දාහක් ඇඬුවාට මොකද එක ගව ලොමයක්වත් නැත්නම් ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What matters even if a thousand tigers roar, if there is not even a single hair of any cattle near about ?
Sinhala figure of speech: කොටියාට හරක් පට්ටිය බාරදුන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a herd of cattle being entrusted to the care of the tiger.
Meaning: Trusting an untrustworthy person with responsibility.
Sinhala figure of speech: දිවියා උණට මොටද නිය නැත්නම්
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What use to be a tiger if there be no claws ?
Meaning: powerless or ineffective despite once having great strength or authority.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගැසූ තැනම තිඹයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Wherever you strike, a “ timba.”
Meaning: Wherever you strike immediate gain or profit ensues
Sinhala figure of speech: සිමන් ගමරාළ නයිමඩමටත් ගොසින් ඇවිත් අඹුගෙන් විටකට දුම්කොළ ඉල්ලුවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Siman Gamarala’s request to his. wife for a chew of
 tobacco after returning from Nainamadama.
Sinhala figure of speech: අද අපිට නම් හෙට උන්ට
Type: [කියමන්]
Literal translation: If to-day is ours, to-morrow is theirs.
Sinhala figure of speech: හෙට ලැබෙන ඇතුට වඩා අද ලැබෙන වටුවා ජානා
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: To-day’s snipe is better than to-morrow’s elephant.
English equivalent: The egg today is worth more than the hen tomorrow
Meaning: It’s wiser to value immediate, sure benefits over doubtful promises of greater rewards later
Sinhala figure of speech: බුදුන් අටවන්නෙත් සඟුන් අටවන්නෙත් මම බොන රා කට්ටෙයි කියා බේබද්දෙක් කීලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: “All this Buddha-tfflk and priest-talk is aimed only at my little toddy cup, is it not ? ” asked the drunkard.
Sinhala figure of speech: උපාසක කමට නොහොබිලු රා බීම
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is unbecoming for an “ Upasakayd ” to drink toddy
Sinhala figure of speech: වැඩි පද ගහන්නේ තොවිලෙ කැතවෙන්නයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Too much tom-toming means that the “ tovila ” is going to be spoilt
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇට නැති දිවට මොනවා කියන්ට බැරිද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The boneless tongue, what can it not say ?
Meaning: A person who is used to lying can tell any lie.
Sinhala figure of speech: කට බොරු කීවත් දිව බොරු කියන්නේ නැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The tongue does not lie, though the mouth may.
Sinhala figure of speech: දත් තිහට මැද දිය තියෙනවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: The tongue is safe though in the midst of thirty teeth.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබි කබලුත් බෙහෙතට ඕනෑ වෙනවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the shell of the tortoise is needed for medicine.
Meaning: Even things of little value are necessary at times.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බාගෙන් පිස්මේන්තු (පිහාටු) ඉල්ලන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like asking a tortoise for lock-stitches or “ feathers.”
Meaning: Asking for something when you know someone doesn't have it
Sinhala figure of speech: කණකැස්බා වියසිදුරෙන් අහස බලන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the blind tortoise peering at the sky through the chink in the oxen’s yoke
English equivalent: When the Greek Calends arrive
Meaning: Something that can never happen or something that happens very rarely
Context: When does this eventuality occur? First, a bullock-cart must break down on the road, and so heavy a shower must fall that the yoke of the cart must be washed down by a flood to the river, whence it must be carried to the sea. There’ when it is floating about, tossed on the waves, a one-eyed turtle must come along, and, keeping its single eye glued as it were to the chink in the yoke, peer at the sky. How often can this concatenation of events take place in time?
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බා දියේ දමනටෙයි කියල "ඇන්නෑවෙයි" කියා කෑ ගැසුවාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like the tortoise who cried out “ Damn it,” when ordered to be thrown into the water.
Meaning: A good thing happening via the form of a punishment
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බාට කට රැකගෙන ඉන්ට බැරිවුණ වගෙයි
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the tortoise who failed to govern his tongue.
Meaning: That you should think twice before doing something, that responding to the approval or criticism of others can lead to your own destruction, and that you should especially guard your mouth by not speaking unnecessarily.
Context: Once upon a time, there was a tortoise by the name of Kambugriva and two geese by the name of Sankata and Vikata. The tortoise lived in a pond and he made friends with two geese who used to come and visit him at the pond. All of them were happy for the past many years. Once they faced a drought that lasted for several months. Due to this, all the rivers, lakes and ponds went dry. There was not a drop of water to drink for the birds and the animals. They began to die of thirst and scorching heat. Many of them decided to migrate to some fertile lands. The three friends also decided to leave the pond and to go to some distant lake, full of water, to settle down there for ever. But it was quite difficult to shift at a distant place. Although, was quite easy for the geese as they could fly but the problem was for tortoise. The poor tortoise could not fly and to cover that distance on foot was really difficult. All of them had a conversation, as to what could be a possible solution for this problem. The geese suggested a plan, according to which, tortoise would have to hold a piece of stick by his mouth and which would be carried slowly while holding its two ends by them. The only condition was that the tortoise should not speak; otherwise he would fall and die spontaneously. The geese were worried because they knew that tortoise was very talkative, and it was difficult for him to keep his mouth shut. The tortoise got the logic and promised not to open his mouth during the entire journey. Before starting their journey, the geese again cautioned their friend not to open his mouth in any case. With this instruction, the geese held the stick ends in their beaks and the tortoise held the stick in the middle with his teeth. Thus, they started their journey. They flew higher and higher, over hills, valleys, fields and plains. Ultimately, they flew over a town. The people of the town were surprised to See such a strange scene. They started laughing and clapping, to See the geese carrying tortoise like that. The people’s shouting and laughing annoyed the tortoise. He thought why these people were making such a noise. Unable to control his anxiety, he opened his mouth to speak. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he lost his grip on the stick and fell to his death. So, the poor tortoise got killed because of his stupidity and impatience
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බා සිංහයාව පරාජය කළාලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The tortoise is said to have vanquished the lion.
Meaning: He who knows the tricks has power.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඉබ්බෝ කවදා ගස් ගියෝද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: When did tortoises climb up trees ?
Sinhala figure of speech: තොටගමුවේ උපන්නාට මොටද බණ බැරිනම් ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What is the use of being born at Totagamuva if you do not know “ Bana ” ?
Context: Thotagamuwa, was the residence of Sri Rahulasthawira, (commonly known as Thotagamuwa Priest) a very learned Buddhist Priest. His knowledge of Buddhism was so perfect that he knew the whole of the Tripitaka by heart. His acquaintance with secular learning is said to have been equally marvellous. Those who are conversant with his writings call him the Shakespeare of the East. Bana means, the Buddhist scriptures. Totagamuva village (on the Galle road) was the birthplace of that celebrated Sinhalese scholar and religious, Sri Rahula Sthavirava, the author of Kavya- sekhara, etc. This village in recent times obtained such a bad reputation for cattle-stealing and highway robberies that the proverb was changed in the district to “What is the use of being born at Totagamuva if you do not know how to steal?
Sinhala figure of speech: දහට අරන් පන්සියයට දුන්නා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like buying for a thousand and selling back for five hundred
Meaning: Loss-making trade
Sinhala figure of speech: දැනගෙන ගියොත් කතරගමයි, නොදැන ගියොත් අතරමගයි
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If you go knowingly, it is Kataragama ; if unknowingly, it is a case of being stranded.
Meaning: Tasks undertaken without a plan will fail
Sinhala figure of speech: කථාව දෝලාවෙන්, ගමන පයින්
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like the Ocean of the Streams of Stories
Meaning: Those who pretend to be above their status
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇවිද්ද පය දහස් වටී, ගෙයි තිබු පය බලු නොවටී
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The travelled foot is worth thousands, the stay-at-home foot worse than a dog’s.
Meaning: Traveling abroad provides many experiences.
Sinhala figure of speech: සත්පුරුෂයා යන පාරේ බොහෝදෙනාට ඉඩ ඇතිලු, අසත්පුරුෂයා යන පාරේ ඔහුටත් ඉඩ මදිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The virtuous man’s road has room for many others, the winked man’s none even for himself
Sinhala figure of speech: නිය පොත්තෙන් කඩන ගහ පොරොවෙන් කපන්ට අමාරු උණ වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: It becomes difficult afterwards to cut down with an axe the tree which at first might have been nipped with your nail
English equivalent: A stitch in time saves nine.
Meaning: It’s better to deal with problems immediately rather than wait by when they worsen and become much bigger.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇහැළපොළගේ මුල වනසමැයි සිතා ඇහැළමුල් ඉදුරුවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like rooting out “ Ehela ” trees in order to stamp out the Ehelapola race
Context: The last Kandyan King Sri Wikrainanijasinha, for a conspiracy formed against him by his Prime minister Ehelepola put to death the wife and children of the latter under circumstances of the utmost barbarity. Not being content with this, he ordered all the Ehela trees (Cassia fistula / indian laburnum / Golden shower tree) in the kingdom to be rooted out in order that all traces of Ehelepola name might be destroyed
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහේ මුලින් නොගොස් අගින් යන්ට ගියා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like trying to get on a tree from the top instead of from the bottom.
Sinhala figure of speech: ගහටත් නැහැ, බඩටත් නැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ] 
Literal translation: Made of no use, either to the tree or to the stomach.
Context: Said of a raw fruit, plucked prematurely
Sinhala figure of speech: හැදෙන ගහ දෙපෙත්තේදී දැනෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The tree which will grow can be Known when two leaves spring out
Meaning: You can tell from a child's characteristics whether they will be a good or bad person.
Sinhala figure of speech: වඳුරා කිඹුලා රැවටුවා වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the trick a monkey played on an alligator.
Context: A certain she-crocodile during the earliest stages of her pregnancy being seized with a strong desire to eat the heart of a monkey requested her husband to get her one. The husband with this object in view went up to a certain monkey and told him, “Friend there is better food for you on the other side of the river than on this.” "It may be so" replied the monkey, "but how am I to get there?” "Sit on my back ' said the crocodile "and I will take you over." The monkey accordingly got upon the crocodile's back. When the crocodile reached the middle of the river, he told his companion "I am taking you to my wife, to give her your heart to eat." Quoth (said) the monkey in return, "You fool, did you not see me hang up my heart on that tree yonder. Take me back there that I may hand it over to you." The foolish crocodile took the monkey to the bank. On reaching the bank however the monkey ran up a tree leaving the crocodile in the lurch to rue his foolishness
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇත්ත කියා පැත්තක් කෑවත් හොඳලු
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: No matter if a part of me is even eaten up if only the truth be told
English equivalent: To call a spade a spade
Meaning: To say the truth about something, even if it is not polite or pleasant.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඇත්ත කියන්නාට තැබෑරුමෙත් ඉඩ නැතිලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The truthful man finds no room even in the tavern.